Instincts
by dayana82
Summary: This is a little missing scene set after episode 5x04. BeckerJess Not beta-read!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Instincts

**Fandom:** Primeval

**Pairing:** Becker/Jess

**Rating:** T (just in case)

**Disclaimer:** Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to ITV1. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time. The idea of the story as well as the story itself – including all possible pre- or sequels published afterwards – are mine.

**Summary:** A little missing scene from season 5 episode 4.

**W****arnings:** Well, obviously, spoilers for the episode mentioned above. :)

**AN:**_ Hi everyone! I'm completely new to this fandom, and it's the first time ever I write for Primeval. So if the persons – Becker and Jess in this case – are off character, I hope you can forgive me._

_Moreover, this piece isn't beta-read. And since I'm far from being a native speaker, there certainly will be mistakes (especially concerning grammar and punctuation) in it. So, I hope you can forgive them, too._

_If you dare to read this nonetheless, I hope you'll enjoy it. :)_

She spun around in her chair another time – and cruelly was reminded that spinning wasn't such a good idea given her current condition. A condition that was the primary reason why she was still here, at the ARC, and not in her bed sleeping peacefully.

The dizziness she felt at the moment was just some side effect of the allergic shock that had almost killed her. But it was enough to keep her glued to her chair in front of her computers. Standing on her own two legs was hard, walking even harder. Driving her car home? Simply impossible.

Thus, she was sitting here, cursing the allergy for keeping her from heading home, away from the ARC and the memories of the previous night, and towards her comfortable bed.

Not that sleep would have been anywhere near possible. Not after everything that had happened.

It wasn't the fact that she'd been bitten by some nasty bug from the future. Nor was it the fact that she'd almost died of an allergic reaction to the bite – which would have normally been more than enough for her not to find any sleep afterwards.

It was the fact that – even though she'd been feverish, drifting in and out of consciousness for a long while – she could still remember. She remembered a certain army captain carrying her through the corridors while the allergen was spreading through her body, weakening her every minute that passed.

She also remembered him holding her in the car, keeping her warm with his jacket that so purely smelled like him. She remembered her head resting partly on his lap, partly on his lower arm while he held her. And she remembered him kissing her head. _Kissing…_

And then he had been the first thing she had seen when she had woken up. After he had given her the adrenalin. And he had held her hand and smiled at her, relieved, almost happy to see her open her eyes. And then he'd run away.

Jess sighed and turned back to her computers. Maybe there was some check-up she could run, or something else to do, even if it was just playing some online game, just to keep herself busy while she was pretty much stuck here.

She hit a few keys, ran a system check here, and a search for anomalies or creature occurs there. But she came up empty, and somehow bored.

She should have just asked Abby and Connor, or Matt, to take her home. Of course, she'd much rather liked to ask someone else, but she hadn't seen him since he had run off to do some "security stuff".

Sighing again, she started a game of chess. At least, this was a way to keep her mind busy.

Why had he taken off so fast, anyway? Did he really like her so little? Was there no hope at all that he was at least sharing some of her profound feelings?

_Face it, Jess, he doesn't fall for computer geeks!_ a little voice in her head told her.

Why then had he taken such a good care of her? Even risked his own life to get her the adrenalin to save her life?

_He would have done that for anyone._

True. But didn't it also mean that he actually _cared_ about her?

_Just not the way you want him to._

God, how she hated this little voice! And there certainly was no way it was ever going to shut up. Not until her own personal superhero confessed his deep and everlasting love for her.

She couldn't help but chuckle. Yeah, there was a fat chance of that. He didn't seem like the romantic kind of guy. In fact, he didn't even seem to love her. But he at least cared about her. That was something. More than she'd ever dared dreaming of, actually.

"Hey, what are you still doing here?" a voice behind her said, interrupting her thoughts.

She jumped at the words, thankfully managing not to scream out loud at the sound of his voice. What was _he_ still doing here?

Taking a deep breath, Jess turned around to look at him. God, was he gorgeous and adorably cute. It should really be forbidden for a man so handsome to walk around just like that.

"You know, I could ask you the same question," she replied, trying to make her voice sound nonchalant, hiding her racing heart and the shivering that ran through her body whenever he was close to her.

He stepped closer, worry clearly written all over his lovely face. "You should be home."

"Yeah, well, I was just… you know… doing some computer stuff," she lied. "Really important, you know. The 'can't wait till tomorrow' kinda stuff."

Frowning, he crossed his arms in front of his muscular chest. "Okay, and now tell me why you're _really_ still here."

Sighing, she let her head sink. It was impossible to keep anything from him. He was like a walking lie detector, at least when it came to her. Oh, well, maybe it was due to the fact that she'd never been good at lying.

"You know, I… This allergic reaction was pretty bad, and…" she started, but wasn't quite sure how to finish the sentence. But since she was sure he wouldn't leave her alone until she talked, she decided to go with the truth.

"I'm still feeling kinda dizzy," she admitted. "And I simply didn't dare driving home in my car. I can barely walk so… I figured it was safer for everyone if I just… stayed here until it gets better."

"But it will get better, right?" he asked, sounding concerned again.

He really _did_ care about her.

"I mean, you don't need medical treatment or anything?" he added.

"No, no," she assured him. "It's just… some dizziness. Probably due to the stress of the allergic shock. This was all… pretty bad, but… I'll be fine. You should go home, get some rest."

"I wasn't the one with the nasty bug bite," he mumbled.

"As I said, I'll be fine," she responded. "It just needs a little more time, that's all."

"And you need to rest," he said sternly, stepping in front of her, reaching for her hands to pull her to her feet. "Let me take you home."

"Becker, that's sweet, but I…"

"Don't argue," he interrupted her. "That's an order."

She couldn't help but grin at that. "Are you being mean again?"

"Yes," he told her with a stern frown.

She knew there was no way of talking him out of it, so she decided to give in. She could really use some rest, after all.

So she stood up, swayed, and stumbled – directly into two strong arms.

"Hey, hey, easy," Becker whispered. Although he'd never have admitted it, his heart started to race when she stumbled right into his arms. Partly because of the worry that this wasn't over, that this wasn't just some side effect of the allergic reaction – but mostly because she was so close to him again.

He'd come damn close to losing her today. Too close. He would personally make Philip pay for putting all of them at such a risk once he got a hold of this guy.

For a moment, he just held her close to his chest, ensuring himself that she was okay, or was at least getting there. Despite everything that had happened today, she still had this sweet, intoxicating scent that was purely her. A scent he would recognize amongst thousand other scents. A scent he'd gotten so used to, he couldn't imagine a day without smelling it.

Her knees were trembling so badly that she almost wasn't able to stand upright. But it was probably more the fact of the man of her dreams holding her in his arms, close against his smoking hot body – for the second time today.

"I'm fine," Jess finally managed to say, gently pushing Becker away a little.

He refused to let go of her. Partly because he didn't want her to stumble again, but mostly because he didn't want to lose contact. Normally, he managed to keep those instinctive feelings that wanted to take over whenever she was close to him under control, that need to touch her.

But after what had almost happened tonight, everything was different. He simply needed to reassure himself that she was fine. So his hand refused to let go of her.

The ride to her apartment was relatively silent. None of them really knew what to say, their minds still revolving around the most recent events – a topic they didn't want to bring up. And even though they didn't know it themselves, either of them was afraid to say something that made them look like a fool – or in Jess's case more like a nerd.

Her heart skipped a few beats when he insisted on taking her upstairs to her apartment. Connor and Abby had moved to their own place about a month ago, leaving her alone in the apartment with nothing but a couple of plants.

She wondered if she could dare inviting him in. Would he even accept? Or would he just run off again?

She shivered when his arms came around her for support again, hoping he didn't notice.

"Are you cold?" Becker asked, his voice unusually soft.

_Damn!_

He immediately took out his jacket to put it over her shoulders. Was it the fever coming back?

"No, I… just a little," Jess stuttered, giving him a smile as he put his jacket back around her.

She wrapped herself up in the piece of clothing, more to feel closer to him than because she actually felt cold. His scent surrounded her, making her even dizzier than she already was. God, he smelled even better than he looked – if that was even possible.

"Thanks for… you know, saving my life and all that," Jess mumbled as they arrived at her door. _Great, totally eloquent!_ Her knees were trembling again, and her brain was too busy trying to keep her from fainting to think straight.

"Anytime," he replied quietly. _Anytime? Are you serious?_ "I mean… not that I want you to be in a situation like this ever again…"

"I know," Jess assured him. "I… I didn't understand it that way. Thanks for… taking such a good care of me. As I said, I'm… really glad you were there."

She remembered? Everything? Becker swallowed. "Yeah, well, I would never have left you alone," he replied, ready to bite himself the next second. Why didn't he just fall on his knees and admitted all his feelings to her – and let her laugh at him. Someone as beautiful and smart as her would never waste her time on someone like him.

"I mean, you could have mutated into some giant superbug," he quickly added.

She giggled, even though she wasn't really feeling like it. Whenever she felt they were getting closer, he pushed her away. By just running away or with comments like that. He really didn't seem to like her one bit.

"You sure you're going to be okay?" he asked. "I mean, I could call Abby or Emily…" She certainly would feel much more comfortable with one of the girls around than with him.

Of course, call someone else and get away from her, as soon as possible.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," she assured him, for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Okay," he smiled, this irresistibly cute smile. "Good night."

"Good night." And then it happened. Following her instincts instead of her brain, she leaned forward and pressed a light kiss right next to his mouth. She was sure she'd been aiming for his cheek, but… she almost touched his lips with hers, causing her whole body to hum with pure pleasure. His skin was soft, and he smelled so good…

His heart skipped a beat when her lips met his skin. She was only millimeters away from his lips, kissing him. In a friendly way, of course. This was by no means meant any other way. Apparently, she was thankful that he had saved her life. She'd said so herself. That was why she was kissing him – almost fully on his lips.

Or had he been wrong altogether?

When she pulled back, she was sure she was going to faint – or turn bright red – or both. But she managed to keep the reactions of her body to the unexpected yet self-caused contact at bay. "Thank you… once more," she whispered.

Becker for his part didn't have that much control of his reactions. Instinctively, he reached out to cup her cheek with his hand, and then leaned forward to press his lips against hers.

This wasn't happening. This was a dream. It had to be. Captain Becker was not just standing on her doorstep kissing her.

Thinking had become impossible. She had almost kissed him. But he was far from satisfied with _almost_. He wanted more, he wanted her – and for the first time for many years he allowed his instincts to take over control.

His hands sneaked around her, pulling her close against him again, while his tongue demanded entrance to explore her mouth. He wouldn't have been able to stop anymore even if he had wanted to.

Oh, God, this was real. This was really happening. And this so wasn't meant to be a friendly kiss, apparently.

She willingly opened her mouth and allowed herself to melt into his touch. Hell, he was some great kisser! This was even better than any of her dreams had ever been.

He couldn't stop, couldn't step back anymore. He wanted, needed to feel her, to assure himself that she was alive. Before he was able to stop it, his hand was brushing up her dress. Damn, he'd wanted to take things slow if he ever dared making a move on her. He didn't want her to think that was all he wanted, but he couldn't help it. He wanted her too badly. Going slow was out of the question now.

She felt his hand on her thigh, just centimeters above the spot where he had injected the adrenalin, making her shiver – and suddenly she realized that they were still standing _outside_ her door, for all her neighbors to be seen.

What was gonna happen now? If she broke the kiss, he would surely apologize and run. And if she didn't and just pulled him inside? She wasn't sure which scenario scared her more at the moment. But she was sure they shouldn't continue whatever was about to happen in public.

So she carefully stepped backwards into her apartment, relieved and apprehensive at the same time when he followed her, pushing the door closed behind him. This was really happening. They would end up in bed tonight.

Not able to wait any longer, he lifted her up, their lips hardly ever parting.

"Bedroom?" he whispered between kisses.

"First door on the left," she managed to reply.

He gently laid her down on the bed, immediately starting to unbutton her dress. God, she was so beautiful. Her skin was soft, and she shivered in response to his touch. She wanted this, wanted _him_. This thought drew a low growl from somewhere deep in his throat.

Her body started to tremble in response to that sound. He really wanted her. This was really going to happen. He wouldn't back off, not now, not tonight.

Carefully, he started to explore her body, covering her delicious skin with soft kisses, nibbling here and there just to taste her. She tasted even better than she smelled. He knew, he shouldn't do this – for several reasons. But all rational thought had been locked up somewhere in the back of his head the moment her lips had met his skin, allowing his rather primal instincts to take over control.

"Becker… please," she gasped. She wanted him, needed him, so badly it almost hurt.

Smiling, he undid a few more buttons, exposing deliciously soft skin. He immediately took advantage of the fact that she was pretty much topless now, avoiding her most sensitive spots just to make her beg him to touch her.

She was writhing under his touch, almost going crazy even though he wasn't really touching her. Not where she wanted to be touched, anyway.

Besides, it seemed unfair that he was still so overdressed. Reaching out, she grabbed his shirt and ripped it open, small black buttons spreading over the floor of her bedroom. She was surprised by her sudden courage.

Becker raised his head to give her a questioning, almost shocked look. He hadn't expected her to be so… greedy.

"Whoops," she whispered with a mischievous grin. She took the chance to take a look at him, and drew in a shaky breath. Boy, she had almost forgotten that he was hiding _this_ under so much clothing. Smiling, she remembered the butterflies the sight of him shirtless had made arise in her body the last time.

Apparently, Jess liked what she saw. Smirking, Becker got rid of the remains of his shirt, before he leaned down again for another breathtaking kiss.

Following a sudden impulse, she reached out to let her hands explore his chest and back. If she finally had the opportunity to touch him, _really_ touch him, there was no way she would miss it. Slowly, carefully, she let her fingernails run over his bare back.

He growled, the soft scratching sending thrills through his body he couldn't remember ever having felt before. "God, don't do that again," he panted.

"That?" she asked innocently, repeating the movement.

"God, Jess," he mumbled through gritted teeth. Her touch almost drove him crazing, making him want to rip off her clothes and take her right away.

He obviously was aroused by her touch, and he obviously wanted this. Jess's heart started to beat faster. She still couldn't believe this was really happening. That _he_ really wanted it to happen.

He was sweeter and more gentle than she had ever imagined him to be. He was perfect. She had dreamed about this to happen so often that she'd actually been afraid to be disappointed when it really did. But reality exceeded all her dreams by far.

It had been a while since he had last made love to a woman. Not had sex, but really made love. But judging from the sounds he could draw from her lips, he hadn't forgotten anything.

He was skilled – which certainly meant that he was really experienced. The thought of that immediately brought her back to earth. Would he notice? What if she didn't know what to do? She would look like a fool.

"Are you okay?" he gasped rather than asked.

He must have noticed her apprehension. Damn, was it really impossible to keep something from him?

"Yeah," she assured him, "just… excited."

"You know, we don't have to do this," he replied softly. "I mean, it doesn't have to happen now. If I'm going too fast…"

"No," she quickly interrupted him. She wasn't really sure she was ready for this – or for whatever would happen after tonight. But she was sure she wanted him, and she didn't want him to stop.

He leaned down to give her a soft, lingering kiss, before locking eyes with her. "Whenever you say stop, I'll stop."

She nodded, relieved, and if it had been possible, she was sure she had just fallen more for him. He was so sweet, such a gentleman. And he knew exactly where to touch her, and how. It didn't take him long to make all her insecurities vanish and make her forget about anything but him.

Carefully, he undressed her. Waiting for her consent for every piece of clothing he removed, cherishing every bit of skin he revealed. He felt her relax under his touch, even silently begging him for more.

"You're so beautiful," he mumbled between kisses. "So sweet."

She felt so good that it was almost impossible for him not to completely lose control. Her touch was so soft and warm and welcoming. It was strange, but for the first time since he could remember he really felt at home somewhere.

No, not somewhere. With someone. With Jess. He knew that after tonight he never wanted to be with anyone else again.

The whole night was so perfect that she was sure she would never want to be with anyone else ever again. No one could ever make her feel this way again, no one but him.

She couldn't remember when something had ever felt so good, or had ever tasted so sweet, or had ever made her skin prickle that much… This was pure heaven. At least it was for her. For the first time in her life she felt loved, wanted, and completely safe. It felt so good that she couldn't stop the tears from running down her cheeks.

He had made every effort to go slow, to be gentle. But when he kissed her cheek, he could feel the liquid covering it, taste the salt it contained.

"Am I hurting you," he whispered, appalled. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, I'm fine," she assured him. "Blissful, even. Please, Becker, don't… don't stop."

He frowned at her in concern, but when she begged him to go on again, he did, carefully and slowly, leaning down to kiss her tears away.

Her whole body was prickling, as if tiny ants were running through her veins, when he finally caught her in his strong arms. It was official, she was in heaven. There was no possible way life could get any better. Except if he would finally say these three little words.

_Yeah, sure. That's not gonna happen._

But at the moment, she didn't feel like something was missing. If such passionate, gentle, perfect lovemaking was all she could get, she honestly had no intention to complain. Smiling, she allowed herself to drift off into a deep and peaceful sleep.

When he felt her relax against his body, he realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms. "Sleep well, beautiful," he mumbled, gently kissing the top of her head. Smiling himself, he wrapped his arms closer around her and closed his eyes.

When Jess woke up the next day, she felt more rested than ever before. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept that well and that deep. Smiling contentedly, she turned around, blindly reaching next to her – and froze in the middle of the movement. The bed was empty.


	2. Scared

**Title: **Scared

**Pairing:** Becker/Jess

**Rating:** T (just in case)

**Disclaimer:** Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to ITV1. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time. The idea of the story as well as the story itself – including all possible pre- or sequels published afterwards – are mine.

**Summary:** A little sequel to 'Instincts'. Missing scenes from the episodes 5.05 and 5.06.

**W****arnings:** Spoilers for episodes 5.04, 5.05 and 5.06

**AN:**_ Okay, this is much longer than I intended it to be. I re-read the whole chapter about twenty times, intending to change it so that it became shorter. In the end, it always was longer than before. So I'll stop changing it now. :)_

_As a matter of fact, I'm totally hooked by this couple now. Addicted even. I spent the last few days trying to find every lovely Becker/Jess moment out there – and there were so many (even though my impression is now that they had more lovely moments in season 4 than they had in season 5). So, it's possible that there are more stories coming. I'd love to write my own follow-up to the scene with the chocolate… *giggles*_

_Becker might seem a bit out of character here when he's trying to win Jess back, but I just couldn't make it too easy for him. So unlike him, he's talking his heart out (can you actually say that? Anyway…) I just thought that after he broke Jess's heart, there really was a lot he had to explain._

_Now, I hope you enjoy the story. Like the first chapter, it's not beta-read. So if you find any mistakes, I'd be grateful for you pointing them out. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm not sure yet whether this will be the last chapter. I'd just love to write about their first date. But that could become a story of its own as well…_

Of course, she should have known it right from the start. He simply wasn't the kind of guy who stayed until the next morning. She'd been fooling herself believing that things would be different with her. Still, she couldn't stop the tears from springing to her eyes.

Was it really that easy for him to dump her? Not even leaving her a simple note in the morning? She should have expected this, but after a night like the last one?

Not being able to keep the hurt at bay any longer, she curled up on her kitchen floor and started to sob. She wasn't sure how long she sat there crying her eyes out. But she was interrupted by the beeping of her cell phone. She was supposed to be at work – a meeting. This probably meant Lester was going to give them a piece of his mind.

She wiped her eyes, covered the traces of her breakdown with makeup as best as she could, and headed for work – hoping she wouldn't see him that day.

She put on a dress with a red skirt and blue top, and a scarf to cover the bite on her neck.

When she arrived at the ARC, she headed straight for her computers, not really looking at anything or anyone on her way, and thus not greeting Abby who was preparing to head to the city with the others. She sat down, put in her ear piece and immediately started typing. She still had a few minutes before the meeting started, and she could spent them working.

"Beta-team, do you read? There is another anomaly occur a few hundred meters north of your position," she told them. "Sending exact coordinates now."

He didn't want her, or at least not more than for this one night. And she needed to accept that, get over it and move on, which was much easier said than done. Why had he been so sweet and gentle? Why had he constantly told her how beautiful she was, and how much he wanted her? Had that really just been to soft-soap her and get her into bed?

"Jess?" Abby asked, frowning at her. Usually, she was blissful, greeting them exuberantly when she arrived at work. Maybe her behavior was just due to the aftermaths of the previous night. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," she simply replied, not looking up from her work.

Okay. Something was definitely wrong here. Maybe she should have stayed at home today. Being attacked and bitten by a beetle was one thing, but having such a heavy allergic reaction to that… She surely just needed some rest.

On the other hand, she seemed unusually quiet today, even sad. Something must have happened. Something beyond the beetle attack.

"Are you sure?" Abby pressed her. "You… really don't look okay."

Jess let her head sink and sighed. As much as she didn't want anyone to know what had happened the previous night, she felt like she needed to talk to someone. And she was glad Abby was asking.

"It's about Becker," she whispered.

Okay, now things were getting interesting. She hadn't missed Becker's reaction to Jess's condition after the beetle bite. Smiling slightly to herself, Abby stepped next to Jess. "What about him?"

"He… He drove me home yesterday," she explained quietly. "I was still a little dizzy and didn't dare driving on my own. So he offered me to drive me home, and… well… somehow… we… you know…"

Abby's eyes widened. She had expected Jess to admit her feelings for Becker, but not that they had actually already acted on them. "You mean… you and Becker?" she asked, trying hard not to grin from ear to ear.

"Yeah," Jess sniffled.

"Oh," Abby said, frowning slightly. "It… wasn't good?"

"It was wonderful," Jess told her, sniffling again. "It was perfect."

The furrows on Abby's forehead became deeper. "But?"

Jess sighed, and hesitated for a moment before replying. "He… When I woke up this morning, he was gone. He didn't even leave me a note and… that was it, I guess."

Abby frowned. From Becker's behavior the previous night it seemed pretty obvious that he had some profound feelings for Jess. Dumping her the next morning just didn't sound like him. On the other hand, running away when it came to feelings sounded very much like him.

"Have you talked to him?" Abby wanted to know.

Jess shook her head, and sniffled. "I can't. I don't… want to."

"You should at least try," Abby recommended. "This might clarify a lot."

"I can't," Jess repeated. "Don't get me wrong, I understand him. I mean, I… I don't blame him or anything. I understand if he… regrets what happened. But… I really don't want to actually hear it from him."

Gently placing her hand on Jess's shoulder, Abby opened her mouth to say something.

"If the ladies are done sharing the newest gossip, I'd be pleased to see you in my office," Lester said from the door.

Abby swore silently. "I'm sorry, but we have to go," she told Jess. "We'll talk later."

Maybe it had been the meeting with Lester why Becker had been gone. He had been called into the office to fill him in on everything that had happened during the beetle attack.

When Jess walked into the office, she quietly mumbled a hello and sat down in one corner.

Becker didn't dare looking at her, either. Maybe he was afraid that anyone might notice the change between them. Or maybe he was afraid to see the hurt in Jess's eyes because he had been gone this morning.

He had been called to Lester pretty early and hadn't wanted to wake her up. Partly because he knew she needed to rest. But he had also been relieved to have an excuse to disappear this morning. He just didn't do this 'morning after' thing.

But with Jess everything had been different. And he should have had the guts to tell her instead of just leaving. Now he might have ruined the only good thing in his life he'd had in years.

Abby frowned at the two of them. Something was wrong here. Becker seemed rather… nervous when Jess entered the room. Not really the behavior she would expect if he regretted the last night.

She would talk to Becker once she had the opportunity; maybe after the meeting. He needed to know what was going on here. He certainly needed to know a little more about Jess to understand her reaction to him being gone the next morning – no matter why.

They were dismissed when Philip interrupted the meeting. But Abby didn't have time to get Becker alone. He rushed to a phone. Probably again some 'security stuff' he had to do. However, he seemed to be watching Jess, who did her best to ignore him.

Abby sighed. This would be much harder than she thought it would.

"Is something wrong?" Connor asked, sensing the worry radiating from Abby.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you," she replied.

"But, we're good, right?" he pressed her.

Abby turned to smile at him. It was cute how he was worried about that. He still cared a lot about her and their relationship – and he took neither for granted. "Yeah, we're good," she assured him.

"Good," Connor sighed with relief. Then he frowned. "What is wrong then?"

"I'm sorry," she said with a smile. "But I really can't tell you."

Then, suddenly, the alarm went off. It didn't escape Abby's notice how Becker used the opportunity to get close to Jess, asking her about the location of the anomaly. But again, Jess ignored him. Well, she answered his question, but she didn't even turn to look at him.

When the alarm went off, he immediately rushed over to Jess, even though his head told him not to. The rest of him just wanted to be close to her again. He smelled her perfume, and had to try hard not to sniff her hair just to get more of her scent.

She didn't even react to his presence. Her eyes never left the computer screen in front of her. She didn't dart the slightest hint of a smile in his direction.

Damn, why did he have to be so emotionally inept? Why did he have to be such an ass leaving her the next morning? He'd ruined it. He'd ruined everything – once again.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Jess had already picked up the phone to call Lester, and then turned on the TV for them to see the news about a T-Rex in the city center. He leaned forward in an attempt to get closer to her, but she leaned away ever so slightly, her eyes fixed on the screen.

Lester immediately sent them away, Matt to shut down New Dawn and the rest of them to capture the T-Rex; except for Connor who was supposed to keep Philip away from New Dawn.

Becker handed out the communication devices. He looked at Jess again, but again she didn't turn around to look back at him. Sighing, he headed for the SUV with the others. There was no goodbye, no good luck – things she usually said when they went to capture creatures.

There was no way Abby was going to address the matter with Emily in the SUV. It certainly wasn't a matter Becker would feel comfortable to talk about with her – let alone with Emily witnessing the whole talk.

It was hard enough to capture the T-Rex – even though Matt did most of the work. At least, Jess talked to Becker over the com, providing them with the coordinates of the T-Rex. That was a start, wasn't it?

They waited for the clean-up team to take care of the T-Rex – as well as the mess and the injured. And then all hell broke loose. Anomalies were opening all over the world, and they simply didn't have enough men to take care of all of them.

At least after that, Abby was able to talk to Becker alone when they got into the SUV to head for the next anomaly. Alas, she wasn't sure how to address the matter.

She could feel the tension radiating from his body, though, while he was driving.

"Are you all right?" she asked quietly.

"Yup," was the simple answer.

"So, you're not thinking about a certain field coordinator?" she pressed him.

Becker frowned at her. That meant Jess had talked to her about the previous night. If she had told Abby, she didn't want to keep it a secret. That meant she didn't regret it, didn't it? Or maybe she had just asked for Abby's advice how to politely blow him off.

_Face the truth, she's upset so she needed to talk to someone._

"No, I'm not," he lied.

"Becker, you really should talk to her when this is over," she advised, turning her head to look out of the window.

"I don't think that's your business," he grumbled, even though he just wanted to press her about whatever Jess might have told her. He was such an idiot.

Sighing, Abby turned back to him. She could read the unasked question all over his face. He certainly needed some advice how to apologize to Jess. "She's upset," she told him. "Because you were gone this morning."

"I know," he said, and Abby could see his hands clutching tighter around the steering wheel. "I was called to brief Lester about the beetle incident."

"Well," Abby said with a sigh. "After she didn't find any note, she was sure this was it. I suppose she thinks that you think this was a mistake, that you regret last night."

"I don't, I just… don't do this morning after thing." Great, he had really spoiled it this time.

Abby bit her lip. She knew she shouldn't tell him that, but there was no other way he'd understand. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted by the com telling them to get to the next anomaly. "We'll talk later," she simply said.

Becker wasn't really able to concentrate on the creatures. He had spoiled everything, he knew it. He should have just woken her up. He should have completely opened up to her. The truth was he had been scared.

His whole life long he had always tried not to get too close to people, not to get involved too much. He had lost so many friends over the years. He had lost his parents, in the end he always lost the people he loved. If he cared too much about people, he was only going to end up hurt.

So he had decided it was better to hurt other people and push them away. But he had never wanted to hurt Jess. She was special to him. There was no denying it. If he hadn't been such a damn coward, he might be a very happy man right now. This way, he was just a bloody idiot.

Of course, he could try and explain himself. He could woo her, she deserved being wooed, not being seduced and then left alone in the morning. He could try and make it all right. But it was too late for all that, wasn't it?

"Do you think she'll even talk to me?" Becker whispered as they walked through the corridors. "I mean, she ignored me most of the time this morning." For a good reason…

Abby sighed once more. "This is not a good moment for that," she replied.

"I know… but…" He just needed to know. He wanted to understand. No, actually, all he wanted at the moment was to head back to the ARC and talk to Jess. For the first time, he didn't really care about dinosaurs on the loose.

"Just try when we get back," she repeated.

He cursed silently. Of course, taking care of the anomalies was most important at the moment – but not to him. He had made her think he'd just wanted to get into her pants. Did she really think so little of him? _Well, you gave her every reason to…_

Or did she just believe that he _couldn't_ really love her? He had made every effort to make her aware of his feelings, but apparently he had failed. He really should have woken her up!

After they'd managed to close the anomaly, they were forced to split up – which meant that there was no way he could grill Abby about Jess any more.

And then it was Lester's voice coming over the com instead of Jess's. So, now she didn't want to talk to him anymore? She had talked to him this morning, even though it had been merely work-related and she hadn't looked at him. Not once. _Damn_!

They were attacked by the creature and Becker lost his com – and his co-worker. What now? Was he going to end up dinosaur-food when he hadn't even had the chance to sort things out with Jess?

Jess was glad that Lester was talking to Becker now. Not that she bothered hearing his voice. She'd always loved talking to him. But right now, whenever she heard his voice saying something completely work-related, she felt dangerously close to a nervous breakdown.

And then Becker wasn't answering anymore. She felt her heart beat faster. What if something had happened to him? What if he was hurt and needed help? Tears wanted to find their way into her eyes, but she fought them down. He was fine. He would survive, as he always did. She knew it. And if he didn't? She wasn't sure she would survive losing him.

Only shortly afterwards all hell was let loose. Philip opened the anomaly, neither Connor nor Abby or Matt or Emily were answering their coms – and there was an electrical surge shutting down everything that depended on electricity, making it impossible for her to reach anyone out in the field.

Then her cell phone rang and she saw Becker's ID. Knowing that she would cry out of relief once she heard his voice again, she handed the phone over to Lester.

Great, now she wasn't even answering his calls on _her_ phone. She handed the phone to Lester. Becker wanted to head back to the ARC and talk to her, immediately. But Lester sent him to New Dawn, so there was no way he was going to be at the ARC anytime soon. So making up with Jess had to wait until they had finally shut the damn anomaly down.

And if they couldn't? He needed to talk to Jess before all life on earth was destroyed. He didn't want to leave this world without confessing his true feelings to her, and making up for hurting her.

When he arrived at the scene, he was glad to see the rest of the team alive. The next second he realized that New Dawn was destroyed – vanished, to be precise. But the anomaly was still there. That wasn't good.

Only shortly after that, he got the text that nearly made his heart stop. There were predators in the ARC. Jess and Lester were alone there practically without weapons – and it was the two of them against who knew how many predators.

His first impulse was to head back to the ARC to help them. But he knew he had to get to New Dawn to make sure the rest of the team was still there to shut down the damn anomaly.

It didn't escape Abby's notice how stressed Becker's voice sounded when he talked about the predators. Connor's prototype having re-opened the anomaly in the ARC was the only explanation for that – and it meant that there could be more predators coming through while they were here talking.

When they finally got into the truck, Becker sped down the road towards the ARC. Even though he wanted to run into the building, calling out for Jess, he knew better than doing it. They needed to be careful, the predators could be anywhere.

As a matter of fact, Jess and Lester could already be dead. For the first time in years, Becker found himself praying for something, for Jess's safety.

His heart was racing and he had trouble concentrating, his thoughts only revolving around one scenario. Jess against a predator. She wasn't trained for this, and the predators were much faster than anything she had ever met – and much more dangerous.

She sat behind one of the metal pillars, her face covered with tears and traces of blood, a weapon in her hands. His heart skipped a beat, until he realized that it wasn't her blood but Lester's.

He was talking to her, but again she barely looked at him. Maybe it was due to the shock. Carefully, he touched her cheek, but she let her head sink making him let go. He squeezed her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. If he hadn't been such a bum, she would have let him comfort her now, hold her in his arms as he wanted to.

But again he had to leave her alone. They sealed Lester in the medical bay and then took care of the rest of the predators before they drove back to New Dawn to finally close the anomaly for good.

They almost lost Matt on the way – and they lost Becker's truck. While they were walking back to the ARC, Becker fell back a little. He considered buying flowers for Jess, but unfortunately, there was not a single flower shop open in the city.

"You think this will propitiate her?" Abby asked.

Becker jumped slightly. He hadn't even realized he had stopped in front of the flower shop. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "I really spoiled it, haven't I?"

"Becker, leaving a girl after having sex with her usually means you don't want more," she told him. "That's how Jess understood your actions, and it broke her heart."

"I know," he said, running a hand over his head. "I was a jerk, I know that, and I regretted having sneaked out on her the moment I had closed the door. But…"

"You couldn't just chime and tell her when she opened the door," Abby finished the sentence for him, nodding in understanding. Why did men have to be so complicated, anyway?

"So… What do I do?" he asked quietly.

Abby sighed. "You know, it will be hard to make her listen to you, and even harder to make her believe you. But if you really care about her, you should give it a try."

"You don't think it's going to work, do you?" he remarked, frowning at her.

Taking a deep breath, she replied, "You know, I'll certainly get myself killed by telling you this, but… you do know that… you were… her first, don't you?"

Backer's eyes widened. How was that possible? Wouldn't he have noticed? He ran a hand over his face. He hadn't only spoiled it, he had really screwed up. He couldn't have been a greater jerk. "Crap!"

"You broke her heart," Abby repeated. "Keep that in mind when you talk to her."

When they got back to the ARC, Jess was smiling widely, telling them with relief that Lester was back to his old self.

This was his chance, maybe the only one he'd ever get. She was too glad to see Lester recover to be mad at him at the moment. So Becker quickly rushed after her.

He caught up with Jess a few steps before they reached the medical bay. "Jess," he called out, gently tugging at her elbow to get her attention. "I need to talk to you."

Her face fell almost instantly. She looked at him blankly and much too stern for her pretty face. "There's nothing to talk about."

"There is a lot to talk about," Becker objected. "Please, Jess, just let me explain."

"You just wanted sex," she hissed. "I got that. No need to explain yourself any further, Captain Becker." She turned to head for the medical bay.

"No, I… please." He grabbed her arm to keep her from running away from him. "I was called to Lester pretty early this morning," he started to explain. "I know I should have woken you up, but I… I wanted to let you rest and… To be honest, I was just scared."

This, however, got her attention, and she turned back around to frown at him.

"When you had the allergic shock, I thought I was going to lose you," he admitted. "And that… I… You know, I have some issues letting people in."

"You don't say," she snorted.

Becker sighed. He should have known that she would react this way. This was why he had always been trying not to get too close to her. He had lost too many people, too many friends to allow himself to get involved with anyone.

But the truth was he couldn't seem to get close enough to Jess no matter how hard he tried to push her away; especially not after the last night. Even if he ignored his feelings or tried to repress them, they weren't just going to disappear. He already _was_ close to her, he _was_ involved. He had learned the hard way that there was nothing he could do about it – and he wasn't sure anymore that he wanted to.

He took a deep breath. "Look, I… I know I shouldn't have sneaked out on you just like that, not after that night, and I'm sorry I did. But the last night was… incredible, amazing. I… I can't find a proper word to describe how you made me feel. I've never felt this way for anyone before and that… scared me off. I just couldn't handle how much you mean to me."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, raising her head – and trying to hide the fact that she had trouble fighting back the tears that wanted to spring to her eyes.

"It's true," Becker assured her. "And I… I would really like to make up for everything I did wrong. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, Jess. I know, I was a jerk, and you have every reason to hate me and to never talk to me again. But I assure you this was never meant to be a one night stand; and I'm sorry for making you feel as if it was.

"I never wanted you to think this was all about sex. I never wanted to rush you. You deserved so much more than what I was ready to give to you. I should have wooed you, made you aware of what you mean to me."

Jess just snorted. "As if you would woo someone."

"Not someone," he softly corrected her. "You. I'm certainly not good at that, but if you can ever forgive me and give it a second try, I'd like to have the chance to make it right. I… I would have brought flowers, but I couldn't find a single open shop on the way here."

This couldn't be true. He was just asking for her forgiveness so that no one would notice anything and ask him about it. Trying hard not to start crying and not to throw herself in his arms, she whispered, "Becker, you really don't have to do this. I understand if you don't want… more. Really."

Becker sighed. He'd known it wouldn't be easy to make her believe him. "I know you have every reason to doubt me. And I know that I'm not in the position to ask for your forgiveness. But I… I'm so sorry for… everything," he said quietly, reaching out to stroke her cheek. "I know I should have woken you up to properly say goodbye.

"I was such a jerk, and I… You were vulnerable," he added, cursing himself once again. "And I took advantage of that. All I can say is I'm sorry. I know I should have stopped, we should have waited. And I definitely shouldn't have left you without notice. I know, it was a mistake, but I think somehow I was afraid that you… that you would regret last night."

He had been afraid that _she_ might regret last night? How could she ever regret that? "I don't regret a single second," she replied honestly, a tear running down her cheek. "You were absolutely wonderful. But now I know why everyone's afraid of the 'morning after'. When you were gone this morning, I knew that was it. I knew you could never fall in love with me."

Becker ran a hand over his head again. "I'm sorry for screwing up like I did. I lost so many people I cared about that I thought it was easier for me to build a wall around me and keep people out. I don't know how or when it happened, but you managed to get behind that wall, and that scared me. But I realized that no matter how hard I try to push you away, I can't stop caring about you. I'll only hurt you, and I swear I never wanted to break your heart."

She turned away from him, not able to keep the tears at bay any longer. If he really hadn't wanted to hurt her, why had he done it?

"You mean so much to me, Jess," he whispered, ready to kick himself for hurting her like that. He knew she had every reason to hate him now. But even if she'd never forgive him, he needed to finally open up to her. "You… I…" _Damn, just say it! _"I love you." There, he'd said it – and the world hadn't stopped revolving.

She stared at him almost in shock. This couldn't be true. He hadn't really just said the three words she'd been longing to hear from him since the day she started working here.

"I love you," he repeated, slowly taking a step closer to her and taking her hands in his. "And I wish I could turn back the time to unhurt you. I should have taken things slow instead of letting my want take over control. If I had known this was your first…"

"Abby told you," she interrupted him, almost shouting, and broke free from his touch. She felt like crying, and wished the earth would just open and swallow her.

"Yes," Becker affirmed, reaching out to grab her arms and make her look at him again. "And I'm glad she did. It helped me understand. I just wish you had told me beforehand."

"Told you what?" she sniffled. "That no one wanted me so far? That's not exactly something you like to spill."

He lifted her chin again, searching her eyes with his. "I doubt that is the truth."

She just shrugged, not responding to that. But he had a point. "You know, I… As a matter of fact, I happen to have some trust issues myself. And you were the first man I really fell in love with for… well, for as long as I can remember."

"I feel honored," he whispered. "Honored that you love me, and honored that you chose me and trusted me."

"Well, actually… I'm glad that I waited… for you," she whispered. "It was so perfect."

Hearing her words, Becker felt a sudden jealousy rising in his chest. He wanted to be the only one who ever touched her. "I promise I will never do anything to hurt you again. I love you."

"I love you, too," she whispered, giving him an insecure smile. "I always have."

"Can you forgive me?" he asked in all seriousness.

Taking a deep breath, Jess replied, "I'm willing to try."

He smiled with relief, stroking her cheek again, wiping away the stains of tears with the movement. "You know… I'd like to ask you out, on a real date, like I should have done months ago. So… How about dinner… tonight?"

She just shrugged. Something inside of her was still refusing to believe that this was real.

He smiled, letting his hand play with a strand of her hair. "You can choose the location."

She looked up at him again. "Are you sure about that?"

"Tonight I'm all yours," he replied, smirking. "I'm going to do whatever you want me to do."

"Really?" Her face lit up considerably and he was sure she had something in mind he would never have done. But he didn't care. He would do anything for her.

"There's a lot I have to make up for," he mumbled. "And I'm glad you're willing to give me a second chance. I promise, I'll never do anything to hurt you or make you doubt my feelings for you ever again," he whispered, once again stroking her cheek. "I love you, Jessica Parker."

A radiant smile spread across her face, but the next second, she frowned. "You know, you never told me your first name," she stated.

Smirking, he leaned down to whisper something in her ear.

"Seriously?" she exclaimed, frowning at him.

He just nodded.

Grimacing, Jess stepped forward, wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest. God, it felt good to be so close to him again. "I'll stick to calling you Becker."

Smiling, he returned the embrace, leaning down to kiss her hair. "Does that mean I'm allowed to kiss you now?" he whispered.

She raised her head, tilting it slightly, and smiled. "It certainly means you can try."

Slowly, Becker leaned down to capture her lips with his in a soft, lingering kiss.

"And there I thought you were coming for me and not to make out with your girl," Lester said from behind them, making them both jump apart.

Becker smirked slightly. "I'm sorry, Sir, but there's no way I would ever choose you over my girlfriend."

"I sure am glad about that," Lester said, his face showing no emotion whatsoever.

_Girlfriend_. He had called her his girlfriend, in front of Lester. Jess tried her best not to blush. "What are you doing up?" she asked, basically to draw everyone's attention from the fact that Lester had caught her being so intimate with Becker. The latter didn't seem to care much about it, though.

"Mr. Lester refused to take the wheelchair," one of the nurses told them.

"Sit down," Becker ordered.

"I don't need a wheelchair," Lester objected.

But there was no way of talking Becker out of it. So he made Lester sit down in the wheelchair pushing him forward.

Grabbing his shirt, Lester pulled Becker down to him. "I really don't care about anyone's personal life around here, and I'm surely not her father," he said in a low voice. "But if you ever hurt her again, I'm going to kill you."

"Yeah, I know," Becker said with a smile. He didn't even wonder how Lester knew, he just knew everything. But there was no way Becker would ever hurt his woman again.


	3. Atonement

**Title: **Atonement

**Fandom:** Primeval

**Pairing:** Becker/Jess

**Rating:** M (you'll know why)

**Disclaimer:** Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to ITV1. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time. The idea of the story as well as the story itself – including all possible pre- or sequels published afterwards – are mine.

**Summary:** Following "Scared". Becker tries his best to make up for hurting Jess's feelings.

**W****arnings:** once again not beta-read – not even by me. Sorry, it's late.

**AN:** _Okay, just because I couldn't help it, here's another chapter. The rating surely is appropriate for the last scene. I think it's fair to call it 'pretty sexy stuff'. ;)_

_As far as I can tell, there'll be at least one other chapter. I just have this scene in mind where Abby says something like 'someone had a really great evening,' when Jess enters the room. Plus, I recently found out that I don't only like hooking those two up, I also like writing them as a couple. So, I need to explore this a little further._

_Hope you'll like this. I know I had a lot of fun writing it, especially the last scene. So I hope you'll have as much fun reading it. And come on, fangirls, let's be honest. We've all been secretly dreaming about this… ;)_

"Are you sure?" Becker asked, sounding nervous. "I mean, aren't these too… few colors? I mean, she likes colors…"

Abby smirked as she watched the florist wrapping the bouquet in paper. "Becker, girls love roses, trust me, especially when you have to make up for anything."

"Okay," he said, nodding, hoping that Abby was right and Jess would like the roses.

"So," Abby started as they left the flower shop, heading back for his truck. "Where are you going to take her tonight?"

"Um… Gordon Ramsay," he mumbled.

Abby stopped abruptly as her jaw hit the ground. "You… That's… certainly the most expensive restaurant in the whole city."

"Well, it's also the best," Becker replied with a slight shrug.

"Yeah, sure, but… Can you even afford that?" she asked, her eyes wide. "And how the hell did you manage to get a table there?"

"Lester," he said, "apparently, he knows the chef. And I honestly don't care about the prices as long as Jess likes the food."

"Wow, you really love her," Abby remarked.

"Yes, I do," Becker grumbled. "So, can we get back? I still need to pick up my suit."

"Suit," Abby repeated, giggling slightly. "You're going to wear a suit."

"Yeah, well, the restaurant has a dress code, you know," he grumbled.

Abby giggled again. Jess was going to like this.

Becker merely grumbled when Abby insisted to accompany him to the laundry shop to pick up his suit – just to take a look if the suit was appropriate, as she assured him. But he knew that Abby just wanted to see him in a suit to have something she could tease him about for the next couple of years.

At least, Abby didn't get the idea to come with him when he picked Jess up at her apartment. But somehow, Becker had the feeling that she was there watching him.

Nervously fidgeting with his cuff buttons, he waited for Jess to open the door.

Jess took a last nervous look in the mirror, nervously straightening her dress. Abby had called to tell her that the restaurant he was taking her to required a certain dress code, so she had opted for a short, not too low-cut but still sexy black cocktail gown. God, she had never felt so overdressed. She just hoped Becker liked it.

This was ridiculous. They'd already spent a night together. She shouldn't be so nervous and excited about this date. Not when they already were an item. But she couldn't help it. This was their first real date, after all.

Taking a deep breath, Jess opened her door, and was taken aback by the sight in front of her. Becker in a black suit holding a huge bouquet of roses in five different colors out to her.

"Hey," he greeted, a little awkwardly. Was he allowed to kiss her? This was their first date, but on the other hand, they'd already spent a night together.

Becker decided it was the best idea to hand her the flowers first. "These are… for you," he told her, holding the bouquet out to her.

"They're beautiful," she said, giving him a bright smile as she took the flowers from him, inhaling their sweet scent.

"No, they're just nice," he objected in a low voice. "You are beautiful."

She blushed, as she walked inside to put the flowers into a vase. "Well, you're not too hard on the eye, either," she said over her shoulder.

"So… you don't think I'm… overdressed or anything?" she asked, straightening her dress again, when she had put the flowers on her coffee table.

"No, you look great," he assured her. "Um… shall we?"

"Sure," she agreed, nodding a little too enthusiastically. Then she smiled to herself. "I'm sorry, I'm just… a little excited."

"Yeah, me too," he admitted, relieved that he wasn't the only one feeling nervous about their first date.

"This is kind of… ridiculous, isn't it?" she stated, laughing slightly. "I mean… sure, this is our first date, and I knew I would be thrilled about it if it ever happened, but… it's not like we're about to establish a relationship, is it? I mean, we… technically we already are an item, I mean, after everything that happened, aren't we? so we really don't need to be…"

Becker interrupted the flood of words coming from her mouth, by pressing a soft kiss on her lips. He felt her melt into his touch and his worries about this evening instantly disappeared.

"So, shall we go?" he asked again, smiling at her.

"Absolutely," Jess agreed, returning his smile. There was nothing to worry about. They would have a wonderful dinner and afterwards, if she was lucky, another wonderful night. There was no way this evening could go wrong – except for a dinosaur rampaging the restaurant maybe.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Jess stopped dead on the sidewalk, staring at the location in disbelief.

"What?" Becker asked, new worry growing inside him. "Don't you like the food here?"

"I… I don't know," she stuttered. "Because I've never been here before. This is… much too expensive, and…"

He turned to give her a frown. Why did everyone seem to think he couldn't afford this restaurant? He wasn't that badly paid, after all.

Finding her speech again, Jess turned to him and quietly explained, "Becker, you really don't have to do this. I forgave you and… I don't need to be taken to the most expensive restaurant in the city to enjoy our first date."

"I know," he assured her. "I just… You know, I don't really go out much. And when you told me to chose the location, I asked the others where they liked to eat. But when Connor and Matt both told me about their favorite fast food restaurants, I decided to ask Lester. He told me about this place saying that you can't die without having tried the food. I just… I wanted to take you some place special."

Jess gave him a watery smile and leaned up to peck his cheek. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. "That's sweet," she whispered. "But still you really don't have to do this."

"But I want to," he told her with a grin. "Now, come on, they won't hold our table forever."

"How did you even manage to get a table here?" she asked quietly.

"Again Lester," Becker replied. "He booked the table for us, saying we were close friends."

"I guess he wouldn't have gotten a table for us otherwise," Jess remarked with a giggle.

Becker turned to smile at her. "I don't know. He really seems to like you."

She blushed slightly, but decided not to discuss this any further. Lester always pretended not to like anyone. But she knew he liked the team – the whole team, not just her.

"The table for James Lester," Becker informed the receptionist.

"Follow me, please," the man said with a nod.

Much to Jess's surprise the man lead them through the large dining room, where every table was occupied, into a smaller separated room where there was only one table. Lester managed to get them a private room? She didn't even know this place _had_ a private room.

"So, um… Did Lester recommend anything?" Jess asked, skimming through the card in awe. She'd never even heard of the most meals they were offering here.

Becker looked at her, smirking. "The sea scallops as a starter, the turbot as main course and the Granny Smith parfait as dessert."

Jess giggled. "That sounds like Lester, leaving nothing to chance."

"They also have a bitter chocolate dessert," Becker told her. "As far as I can judge, is nothing with orange in it. Maybe they also think it tastes strange. But if you want I can ask, just to be sure."

She smiled at him, trying hard not to blush. "I can't believe you remember that."

"Well, um…" He cleared his throat, shifting a little in his seat. "You know, I think if you're interested in someone you just… keep things like that in mind."

Her smile widened, her eyes sparkling slightly, and she leaned over to reward him with a kiss.

The waiter carefully cleared his throat next to them, making them jump apart. "May I take your orders?"

"I'd love to have the sea scallops as a starter," Jess said, trying hard not to blush.

Becker, feeling embarrassed himself, mumbled, "I'll take the same."

"Thank you, sir," the waiter said with a slight bow. "Which wine may I serve?"

"Um… Do you prefer red or white?" Becker quietly asked Jess. "You never told me, did you?"

"No, I didn't," she replied with a shy smile. "I assume Lester recommended both a red and a white wine."

Smirking slightly, he told her in a low voice, "He didn't think I was an expert on that."

"Are you?" she said, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, I'm expert enough to guess you'd choose red over white wine, medium dry," he answered, looking at her expectantly.

Jess just nodded, her mouth slightly open in surprise.

Grinning, Becker turned to the waiter. "We'll take a bottle of the Tapanappa Whalebone," he ordered.

"Thank you, sir," the waiter repeated, bowing again and leaving them alone.

"I can't remember anyone other than my comrades ever calling me sir," Becker said, chuckling slightly, when he was sure the waiter couldn't hear him anymore.

"Was that the wine Lester recommended?" Jess wanted to know. She was sure she'd never heard of the wine before.

"No," he replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "He recommended an Italian wine, but I prefer the Australians. I skimmed the wine card and this one sounded best."

Jess looked at him wide-eyed. She hadn't pictured him drinking wine.

"What?" Becker asked with a frown. "Don't you like Australian wines?"

"I… um… honestly don't know," she stuttered in return. "I don't think I ever tried one. But… How do you know so much about wine?"

"I don't know that much," he objected. "But my parents were really fond of wine testing. When I was nine, they started taking me with them."

Jess smiled at him, thankfully. "That's the first time you ever told me something personal about yourself."

"Yeah, well, I… I don't talk much about my parents since they died," he mumbled.

Her smile turned into a sympathetic frown, and she reached over the table for his hand, squeezing it slightly. "I'm sorry, Becker," she whispered.

"Don't be," he said, taking her hand in both of his. "It's been a long time and… Well, for the first time since then I found a place where I feel at home."

"The ARC," she guessed.

Becker blinked at her in confusion, and then smiled warmly. "Also… But only since you started working there."

Her head shot up, staring at him almost in shock, her eyes searching his for an answer.

He cleared his throat, adding, "I was talking about you, Jess. I feel at home with you."

She blinked back the tears that wanted to spring to her eyes. "And I never felt so safe and secure and loved before as I feel with you," she whispered.

Their moment was interrupted when the waiter served the wine. He smiled at them. A knowing smile telling them that this was the reason they had such a separate room.

Jess tried her best not to blush, and smiled sheepishly at Becker, who returned a wide grin.

The waiter filled both their glasses, and only a second later another waiter served their starters.

The sea scallops smelled amazing, and Jess leaned in a little closer, closing her eyes to enjoy the scent. She took one of the scallops, poured some of the sauce over it, and put it in her mouth.

Her eyes fluttered shut and she made a sound she – in Becker's opinion – definitely shouldn't make in public.

He swallowed hard as he watched her. "You know, if you keep making such sounds, we'll never make it to the main course," he teased a little huskily.

"Sorry, this just… is the best taste that ever filled my mouth," she told him, eating another scallop, this time swallowing the sound that wanted to escape her throat.

"Really?" he asked, grinning as he tasted his scallops as well. "Yeah, they're really good. But since last night, I can think of at least one thing that tastes much better."

She looked at him for a second, not sure what he was talking about, and then – seeing the dirty smirk on his face – blushed a deep shade of red. "Becker," she scolded, trying her best to get her pulse back to normal.

They decided to go with Lester's recommendations concerning the meal, wondering how affronted he would be that they didn't try the wine he'd recommended. And they had to admit that the main course and the dessert were just as perfect as the starter had been. Lester hadn't exaggerated one bit when he'd said that this was the best restaurant he'd ever eaten at.

"So," Becker asked, after having paid the bill – carefully paying attention that Jess didn't see it. "What are we going to do now?"

"Um… I…" she stuttered, not sure she could ask this of him. He wasn't all that romantic, after all. "You know, actually, I'd like to take a walk at the Battersea Park, if you don't mind."

"Absolutely not," he assured her, taking her hand and leaning her out of the restaurant.

They walked the mile to the park, crossing the Thames via the Albert Bridge. Jess stopped in the middle of the bridge, taking a moment to look at the few boats crossing the river in the dark. Then she raised her head to take a look at the city.

"The sight is beautiful, don't you think?" she whispered when Becker stepped next to her.

"Yes, it is," he agreed, looking at her instead of the view she was referring to.

Smiling sheepishly, Jess leaned in to steal a kiss from him, mumbling, "Flatterer."

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders as they walked towards the park, and smiled when Jess reached up to take his hand in hers, their fingers entwining.

"You know, I don't think I've ever been here before," Becker mumbled as they walked around the small lake.

"Really?" Jess asked, surprised. "How long exactly have you been living in London?"

"Well, I… never took the time, I guess," he replied with a shrug. "But I like it."

"Do you?" she pressed him, turning to raise her eyebrow at him.

"Yeah," he assured her, kissing her temple. "It's peaceful here. Despite the fact that I like guns, I also like places where I feel I don't need them."

When she shivered due to the dropping temperature, Becker suggested going someplace else. "Anything you have in mind?" he asked, gently nibbling at her neck.

"Would you take me to your place?" she asked a little hesitantly.

His head snapped up and he stared at her, frowning slightly. "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, not that I don't want you to see my place, but… I thought we wanted to take things slow and…"

"Wait a second," she interrupted him. "Becker, I know you want to show me that this is not all about sex, but seriously. After such a perfect night there's no way I'm going down the celibate road. You made me feel like I was in heaven and I… I want to feel that way again."

"Are you sure," he asked, concern filling his voice.

"Absolutely," Jess told him, proving her words with a passionate kiss. "Just promise me one thing," she quietly added.

"Anything," he replied, locking eyes with her so that she could see he was serious.

"That you'll be there when I wake up tomorrow," she whispered.

"I promise," he said in all seriousness. Then he smirked, adding, "It will be hard to sneak out on you in my own apartment, won't it?"

"Oh, you…" she scolded, playfully slapping his chest as he put his arm back around her.

He had to admit, he was a bit nervous when he opened the door to his apartment. It wasn't because he had never taken a girl home, it was because for the first time he really minded what the girl might think about his home.

"Wow," Jess gasped when she saw the huge living room of his loft. "And I thought my place was big."

She slowly walked through the room, letting her fingers run over the soft fabric of the sofa. "You know, somehow I always pictured you to have a leather couch," she remarked, as she examined the small glass coffee table and the huge TV.

"Well, it's black," he answered with a shrug. "That's close enough, I guess."

She turned to smile at him. "I like it," she said. "Your apartment, I mean. It's a lot cozier than I had pictured it to be. Not like the typical bachelor apartment."

"The furnishing is pretty close to the one my parent's had," he admitted. "Maybe that's why."

The room filled with silence for a moment. Jess didn't want to tell him again that she was sorry. It just sounded lame. But she couldn't come up with anything else to say.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked after a while.

Jess shook her head no. "I already had too much wine." Yeah, wine that was still making her head spin. Or maybe it was the fact that everything around her purely smelled of Becker. He'd been teasing her the whole evening and she was just… incredibly hot for him. And she desperately wanted him to make one of her wildest fantasies come true. She knew she would never actually ask him to do it, though. This was too… embarrassing. Thinking of him like this…

"Is there… anything else you want?" he pressed her. He was sure he could read an unasked question on her face. Maybe he should just go over and start kissing her. But he'd promised her to do whatever _she_ wanted – so she should be the one making the first move tonight.

"I don't know," Jess whispered, biting her lip. She really shouldn't ask him to do _this_.

"Come on, Jess, just tell me," Becker dared her. "I told you tonight I'd do whatever you want me to do."

"Really anything?" she enquired hesitantly.

Her reluctance told him that it was something sexual she had in mind. Smiling, he affirmed, "Really anything."

"Would you… strip for me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Becker stared at her in disbelief for a moment. Then a lecherous smirk spread across his face.

He walked over to his hi-fi equipment, searching for a slow song. Grinning, he turned up the volume and started the song.

Jess giggled slightly when the first chords of 'Fever' by Beyoncé were playing. But the next second, she bit her lip, when Becker started to move to the music. Who would have thought he could dance – let alone dance like this.

Grinning over his shoulder, he slowly let his jacket slide to the ground. Moving towards Jess, he undid his belt and pulled it off.

Jess licked her lips and a pleasurable shiver ran through her body as Becker wrapped his belt around her waist and pulled her close against him for a deep kiss.

She couldn't believe he really did this for her. And she couldn't believe how _hot_ this actually was. She'd never been too fond of stripping. But this was… arousing – to say the least.

He moved slowly, taking off his shirt bit by bit – and from the flush on Jess's face he could tell that this was exactly what she'd had in mind when she'd asked him to do it.

She stumbled backwards, grabbing the couch for support. Her knees were weak and she was shaking. God, why couldn't he just rip the rest of his clothes off – and hers alike?

He took his time getting rid of his trousers, and sashayed over to her, still moving to the last chords of the music, in nothing but his boxers. Turning around in front of her, he slid his hands beyond the rim of his underwear, wiggling his hips, causing her to giggle.

Grinning to himself, he pushed his boxers down, and – in a good stripper manner – turned around, holding his hands in front of him, before, with the last beat of the music, revealing that he was just as hot for her as she was for him.

Jess drew in a shaky breath and took the advantage to fully look at him. "My God, you're gorgeous," she whispered, suddenly feeling overdressed and… boy, was it hot in here.

Smiling, he took her hand, pulling her close against his naked body. He kissed her hungrily, letting his hands slide up her thigh – and then gasping.

"Well, this was… really turning me on," she whispered, blushing slightly.

"In this case," he said, grinning as he lifted her up, "let me show you my bedroom."


	4. Happy

**Title: **Happy

**Fandom:** Primeval

**Pairing:** Becker/Jess

**Rating:** T

**Disclaimer:** Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to ITV1. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time. The idea of the story as well as the story itself – including all possible pre- or sequels published afterwards – are mine.

**Summary:** Following "Atonement". Becker and Jess learn a few things about each other – and we learn about the reactions of the team to their relationship. ;)

**W****arnings:** once again not beta-read

**AN:** This might be the last chapter, so I'll consider the story as finished for now. I think it's a nice end. There's a lot of love and even more fluff – so I hope you like it. Thanks a lot for reading and for all the lovely, encouraging comments feeding my muse. :)

"You know, I really wouldn't have thought it was possible, but this was even better than last night," Jess whispered against his chest, letting her fingers draw invisible patterns on his bare chest.

"Really?" Becker asked, letting his hand run up and down her arm. "I thought last night was perfect."

"It was," Jess assured him, smiling up at him. "But tonight was… even more perfect."

"In this case, we have a problem," he said, grinning at her. "It means there's only one time left, or can you think of anything better than most perfect?"

She giggled. "I don't know, I think it was more because this time, I could fully enjoy it. Well, without the… apprehension, you know."

He lifted her chin to make her look at him, concern written all over his face. "I did hurt you, didn't I?" he asked in a low voice.

"No, you didn't," Jess assured him. "It wasn't like I… never tried anything. I just… didn't have any experience with a partner."

He frowned at her, her words slowly sinking in, and suddenly it dawned upon him. His grin got naughty. "You mean you have toys?"

She blushed, and nodded ever so slightly.

"I'd really like to see them sometime," he told her, grinning even more when her cheeks turned bright red. "Maybe we can… you know, integrate them."

"I… I don't know," she mumbled, her cheeks feeling like they were burning up.

He smiled. It was cute how shy she was about sex – except when they were actually having sex. And he couldn't stop teasing her, just because he loved seeing her blush. He found himself wondering if he could ever talk her into having sex at the ARC.

"I guess I was more afraid that you might notice anything," she said, mostly to change the topic. "Or maybe I was afraid that reality wouldn't be as good as any of my dreams." She bit her lip. _Thinking before speaking, Jess!_

Becker raised both his eyebrows. "You've been dreaming about me?"

"Ridiculously often," she mumbled.

He frowned, suddenly a little nervous himself. "And… could reality match your dreams so far?"

"No," she whispered, going back to drawing patterns on his chest. "It was so much better. Especially your stripping qualities."

"So, you've been dreaming about me stripping for you," he stated, grinning down at her. "You're a naughty girl, Jessica Parker."

She blushed again. "I wasn't… I mean…" she stuttered.

Becker interrupted her by lifting her chin again and leaning in for a passionate kiss. "You know, I've been dreaming about you, too."

"Really?" she exclaimed. She'd never thought she was the kind of girl men dreamed about.

"Really," he replied, nodding. "And the way you dressed only exalted my imagination. Those short skirts revealing so much of your perfect legs were driving me crazy every day."

She was sure this was a good moment to blush. But she was much too touched by his words. He had been dreaming about her. He thought her legs were perfect. He really thought she was beautiful.

Leaning up, she kissed him passionately. "I never thought men would dream about me," she admitted in a low voice. "Let alone you would."

"I've been in love with you for quite a while, Jess," he replied. "But I only just realized it when I was about to loose you."

"Well, on my part, the butterflies in my stomach every time I saw you were pretty telling," she told him with a giggle, as she placed her head back on his chest.

Grinning, Becker wrapped both his arms around her. "And I thought I had eaten the wrong food," he joked, causing her to giggle.

His hand automatically started running up and down her arm again. He enjoyed the warmth radiating from her body and the intimacy of this embrace. Becker had never been fond of cuddling. But he knew he could get used to this.

"Can I ask you something?" Jess's soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Sure," he answered. He had decided not to keep anything from her ever again.

"Well, I… I don't know much about you, so… what's your favourite colour?"

He chuckled. But he had to admit that Jess had a point. They didn't even know the simplest things about each other – yet. "Black," he replied.

"That's not a colour," Jess objected.

"Okay, um… Purple or yellow, but only in form of a short skirt you're wearing," he said. "Even though I have to admit that I like every colour on you. What about you?"

"Blue," she replied. "Every shade of it. What about your favourite drink?"

"I don't know," he said, shrugging slightly. "At work, I drink a lot of water. After work I sometimes drink beer or wine. But I wouldn't call any of it my favourite.

"Let me guess. Yours is cappuccino."

"Guilty," Jess admitted with a giggle. "What's your favourite meal?"

"Spaghetti Bolognese," he told her with a chuckle. "Not exactly the haute cuisine."

"It's my favourite, too," Jess objected. "And I think it's totally haute cuisine."

He chuckled at that.

"When…" she started, but it took her a moment to find the courage to pose the question. "When did you loose your parents?"

"When I was twelve," Becker replied. "My dad was working for doctors without borders, and my mom sometimes went with him when he helped building hospitals or treating patients in foreign countries.

"They were building a hospital, providing the people with medication and helping the poor in Angola. Their truck hit a landmine. They were killed outright."

"I'm so sorry," Jess whispered. "Is that… Why you joined the army?"

"Basically, yes," he admitted. "I always thought that a gun is the best protection against almost anything out there."

She just nodded. "What happened afterwards?"

"My grandma took me in," Becker answered. "But… She got cancer when I was fifteen, so I spent three years in foster care. The youth welfare service didn't think she could handle a pubescent boy in her condition."

Jess didn't say anything. She didn't dare asking if his grandmother was still alive.

"You know what's worse about the foster care?" he whispered.

She raised her head to look up at him. "That you get a trash bin for your stuff – as if everything you possess is just that. Trash."

He looked at her in disbelief.

"There's a reason I never mentioned my family," Jess whispered. "My mum had a lot of problems, depressions, that is. When I was six my dad left and she committed suicide – and the youth welfare took me in."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I… never thought of you as someone from the system."

"I was lucky," Jess told him. "I didn't have to stay in foster care very long, and I don't remember much of all this, just the trash bin. It turned out that my mom had a sister, and my aunt was willing to take me in."

"Where is she now?" he quietly asked.

"San Francisco," she replied. "She'd always dreamed about going to America, and when I was old enough she emigrated. She wanted to take me with her, but I wanted to stay here. We basically communicate via email. But she comes to visit me for my birthday and for Christmas."

"I'm lucky you decided to stay," Becker whispered into her hair. "I love you, Jess."

"I love you, Becker," she mumbled against his skin, repressing a yawn.

"You know, it's sad I can never introduce you to my parents," he added, kissing the top of her head. "They would have loved you."

"I would have liked to meet them," she whispered. "I'm sure they would be really proud of you."

"I wouldn't be allowed to tell them anything about us saving the world every day," he objected in a low voice.

"I wasn't talking about your work," she mumbled, already half asleep. "I was talking about the person you are."

He whispered something else to her, but she couldn't quite understand it anymore as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

She woke up when the scent of coffee wafted to her nose. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and saw the blurred image of a tray standing on her bedside table. She felt warm skin under her cheek and fingertips, and heard his steady heartbeat; and she knew this was the way she wanted to wake up for the rest of her life.

"Good morning, beautiful," Becker whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"Good morning," she mumbled, unwillingly rising and stretching a little. "You made breakfast," she noted, smiling at him.

"I hope you like coffee and croissants," he said, balancing the tray onto his lap. "I didn't have anything else."

"To be honest, I need coffee in the morning to wake up," she replied, taking one of the cups. "And I love croissants. I've never been too fond of eggs and bacon."

They enjoyed the breakfast, and afterwards shared a shower that lasted much longer than they'd intended it to be, which led to them almost being late for work.

"Someone seems to have had a memorable night," Abby stated, when Jess entered the ADD.

"I did have a very nice evening, that's right," she replied as she sat down on the chair.

"Aw, come on," Emily exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Share some details."

"Your turn first," Jess told her, giving her a challenging look. "How was your first night with Matt?"

"Well, I… We…" Emily stuttered.

"Don't avoid the question," Abby intervened. "How is the food at Gordon Ramsay's? Is it really as good as everyone says it is?"

Jess smiled at her. "Yes, most definitely. And the wine was just as good. The sea scallops were perfect, but the best was the Granny Smith parfait."

"Okay, I'm officially jealous," Abby stated, trying hard to hide the grin that wanted to appear on her face. "What happened _after_ dinner?"

"We took a walk at Battersea Park," Jess replied, trying to look busy.

"Aw, that's totally romantic," Abby said with a sigh. "And… after that?"

"That really is none of your business," Jess tried to defend herself.

"Come on," Abby pressed her. "You said the first time was perfect. All we want to know is if last night was just as good."

Jess sighed. For the first time since she had started working here she really wished for an anomaly to open and save her from the nosy questions Abby and Emily were pelting her with.

"Don't you have some work to do?" Jess heard Lester's stern voice behind her. "The menagerie doesn't run itself, does it?"

"Right," Abby said with a smirk, and disappeared through the main corridor.

"And you," Lester turned to Emily. "While you're here you can as well try making yourself useful. I heard Matt and Becker need some help refilling the armoury."

"Yes, sir," Emily mumbled, bowing out as well.

Jess sighed with relief. The last thing she wanted to do was answering questions about her night with Becker.

"And you can run a complete system check while you're at it," he told Jess, his voice just slightly softer than before.

"Yes, sir," she replied, smiling. "Thank you."

He didn't even try to hide the smirk on his face as he turned to walk back to his office.

The day was quiet, and Jess was looking forward to an equally quiet evening. But her friends had different plans. Abby and Emily decided to have a night out as a team. Both Jess and Becker tried to get out of it, but it was impossible.

"Abby and Emily have tried grilling me about us all day long," Jess said as they were sitting in Becker's truck heading for the bar Abby had chosen. "At least, Lester saved me and sent them away."

"Yeah, Matt and Connor tried the same," Becker told her with a chuckle. "Basically Connor. I guess Abby told him to question me."

"What did you do?" Jess wanted to know.

Becker shrugged. "What I always do. I didn't say anything."

She remembered the moment she'd tried asking him if he had a girlfriend. He'd been silent, just looked at her with the hint of a smile on his face – making her feel incredibly embarrassed. "Yeah, you're pretty good at that."

"You know, you can tell them whatever you want to tell them," Becker said all of a sudden.

Jess turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean it," he assured her. "I don't mind if you want to talk to Abby or Emily about us. I don't want to keep anything between us a secret. Well, except for the stripping maybe."

She giggled. "Trust me, I'm not going to discuss any details with them."

"And I thought it was the gentleman who never tells," Becker mumbled, grinning at her.

"Well, I don't know about Emily and Abby, but I don't want to share bedroom stories with anyone other than you," Jess replied.

This drew a low growl from somewhere deep in his throat. "Do you think they'll notice if we just disappear?"

"I'm afraid we won't make it very far," Jess said, pointing her head towards Abby who had already spotted them and was waving them over.

Becker swore silently. "I'd much rather spend the evening alone with you on my couch, cuddling while we watch a movie. Or in your bed testing your toys."

"Becker," she scolded him. But then a naughty grin appeared on her face, and she leaned over whispering, "That's for later."

He growled again. "If you keep turning me on like this we'll never make it inside that bar, but I'll take you right here and I won't care who'll be watching us."

"How shall we explain to Lester if we're arrested for indecency," Jess asked with a giggle.

She definitely had a point there. The last thing Becker wanted was Lester giving them a sermon. "Well, I guess there's no way we're getting out of this." Sighing, he got out of the car, opening the door for Jess.

"We can as well consider it another date and enjoy the evening," she suggested.

Grinning, Becker put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "Now you're talking."

"Guys, there's something we have to announce," Connor said when they had all gathered around a table in a rather quiet corner of the bar. He tried to sound very official, causing Abby to smirk.

"Abby and I are going to get married," he told them, obviously overflowing with happiness.

"Congratulations," Jess exclaimed, hugging her two friends. "That's great. I can't believe you finally asked her."

"Well, actually, I asked him," Abby corrected.

"Really?" Emily burst out. "I didn't think that was possible."

"Welcome to the twenty-first century," Jess said, grinning at her.

"Jess, Emily, I'd like you to be my bridesmaids," Abby told them, causing both girls to squeal slightly.

"And, of course, I want you two to be my groomsmen," Connor told Becker and Matt.

"And Lester's going to perform the ceremony," Becker joked.

"No, actually, he's walking me down the aisle," Abby replied.

Everyone stared at her flabbergasted for a second, only Jess was smiling.

"Oh, by the way, Emily," Abby said to break the silence. "I don't know if you're familiar with the rite of throwing the bridal bouquet."

"Of course, the maid who catches the bouquet is next to get married," Emily replied.

"Exactly," Abby said with a grin. "And there will only be very few unwed women at the party." She waggled her eyebrows at both Emily and Jess, grinning at Matt and Becker.

The latter took Jess's hand to lead her to the dance floor. "Don't think you're going to scare me off," he told Abby with a grin.

Jess gasped as Becker pulled her dangerously close against his body, turning her knees into jelly. "What are you doing?" she panted. She was sure everyone else in the room was already watching them.

"I'm dancing with you," he whispered into her hair.

Jess's eyes fluttered shut, and a heat ran through her body she shouldn't feel right now, not with so many people around. "This is… not dancing," she objected.

"No?" Becker asked, trying to sound innocent. "Then what is it?"

"Very… inappropriate… for a public place," she panted. "If you keep doing this, we'll really get arrested."

Becker chuckled, swaying her across the dance floor for a little while, her body still pressed mind-blowingly close against his.

"Can I ask you something?" Jess mumbled, basically to keep her brain working.

"Sure, go ahead," he whispered into the crook of her neck, his hot breath sending pleasurable shivers down her spine.

"Would it really not scare you off," she asked quietly, "if I caught the bridal bouquet, I mean?"

He lifted her chin to make her look into his eyes. "No, it wouldn't," he assured her. "I'm serious about us, Jess. I don't want to spend a single day without you again, because you make me very happy, something I haven't been in a very long time, and without trying to rush things, I can say that I can imagine marrying you in the not too distant future. And I… I wanted you to have this." He reached into his pocket and held out a key for her.

Jess blinked at him, tears shimmering in her eyes. He wanted her to have the key to his apartment? "Wow," she said. "Can you… pinch me? Because I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming."

Grinning, he let the key slide into her purse, and then pulled her closer, making her gasp again. "Does that feel like a dream?" he whispered.

"Hey, behave," Abby scolded right next to them, giggling when the couple jumped. "If you're going to dance like this at our wedding, it's going to turn into revelry."

"You were the one depriving us of being on our own tonight," Becker countered. "So you'll have to deal with the consequences."

"You're oversexed," Connor said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it took him long enough to finally make a move on her," Matt jumped in, swaying Emily a little closer to the other two couples. "I guess he just has to make up for the time he missed."

"Oh, look who's talking," Becker responded sarcastically.

"Boys, can we just enjoy this evening," Emily asked with a sigh, "without charging at each other when there're no dinosaurs around?"

Becker and Matt exchanged a grin, but decided not to contradict the girls. They got back to swaying across the dance floor, each couple lost in their own little world for a few moments.

"You know, I didn't dare giving it to you so far," Jess whispered when she was sure the others were far enough not to overhear the conversation. "I thought you might think I'm… you know, possessive or something, but…" She reached into her purse, and a second later let a small key drop into his hand.

He lifted her chin to steal a kiss from her. "I love you," he whispered. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"You're great, lovely, hot, wonderful, perfect, sweet… And I love you and am absolutely crazy about you. Plus, you make me feel happy, beautiful, safe, loved… shall I continue?" she replied, smiling up at him.

Grinning, he leaned down again to kiss her deeply.

And he didn't mind kissing her with dozens of people and almost the whole rest of the team around, she mentally added to her daily growing list of things she loved about Becker.

Becker had to admit that he really enjoyed this evening. As much as he'd have loved to have Jess all to himself, he also enjoyed the time off with the rest of the team, people he indeed considered his family.

Abby couldn't stop grinning. Everyone certainly thought it was due to the fact that she and Connor had announced their engagement, so no one was asking her about it. But as a matter of fact, what really had her grinning from ear to ear tonight was seeing Becker and Jess act like a real couple – and not hiding the fact that they were crazy about each other.

After two years of dancing around each other, they had gotten together at last – and they were obviously happy. _Finally_, she thought.


End file.
